The present invention relates in general to the disposal of medical waste and, in particular, to a new and useful bag and method for the disposal of medical waste using the central in-house vacuum available in a medical facility or hospital.
Currently, medical waste, including surgical garments and other contaminated or infectious wastes, are received and stored in containers or bags at various medical facilities such as hospitals. Once the containers or bags are filled to a specified level with the medical waste, they are, in turn, taken to appropriate disposal sites. Prior to shipment, the bags are usually sealed at their openings for containing the waste. The sealing of a disposal bag causes air to be trapped inside the bag and results in a much larger holding area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,904 issued to the present inventor, for an infectious/medical waste containment carrier provides that a flexible container is sealed with a tie cord above its top level. Although infectious medical waste is sealed within the container, the contents of the container include both waste and trapped air.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,227 for an apparatus and method of handling infectious waste material illustrates that the medical waste bags used for disposal consist of a sealed bag containing waste and trapped air.
When transported in bulk, the medical waste bags with trapped air result in a much greater demand for transportation space and, in turn, increase the cost of transporting the waste which has to be incurred by a medical facility such as a hospital.